Abstract Re‐designing games facilitates interest‐driven learning and immerses learners in systems thinking. However, there are limited studies exploring how the form and function of tabletop games influence learners' design decisions and learning experiences. To address this gap, we conducted a mixed‐methods study in a STEM classroom in western Canada. Third and fourth graders re‐designed a tabletop game called Triominos while we collected data, including classroom videos, photos of students' work‐in‐progress, observation notes, semi‐structured interviews and final game designs. Our analysis was focused on their decisions about form and function during the re‐design process. Our findings revealed how learners translate their ideas about form and function into mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics. Our analyses show that re‐designing tabletop games can surface mathematical reasoning as learners iteratively align representations (tile forms and symbol systems) with rule logic (goals, scoring and constraints) to stabilize playable systems across cycles of prototyping and playtesting. This research underscores the importance of exploring various forms of systems for learning and encourages further research in this area.
Rahimi et al. (2026) studied this question.